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Timeline of Thaumaturgy
Used by the 2nd and 3rd Gens In these days the paths of thaumaturgy were few or so obscure that they couldn't be known. Elemental Mastery This path allows a thaumaturge limited control over and communion with inanimate objects. Mistakenly believed by many to be related to the four basic elements (earth, air, fire and water), this path is actually closer to an amalgamation of Spirit Thaumaturgy and the Path of Conjuring. Elemental Mastery can only be used to affect the unliving - a vampire could not cause a tree to walk by using Animate the Unmoving, for instance. Thaumaturges who seek mastery over living things generally study Biothaumaturgical Experimentation (see Dirty Secrets of the Black Hand) or the Green Path (below). * Elemental Strength The vampire can draw upon the strength and resilience of the earth, or of the objects around him, to increase his physical prowess without the need for large amounts of blood. System: The player allocates a total of three temporary bonus dots between the character's Strength and Stamina. The number of successes on the roll to activate the power is the number of turns these dots remain. The player may spend a Willpower point to increase this duration by one turn. This power cannot be "stacked" - one application must expire before the next can be made. ** Wooden Tongues A vampire may speak, albeit in limited fashion, with the spirit of any inanimate object. The conversation may not be incredibly interesting, as most rocks and chairs have limited concern for what occurs around them, but the vampire can get at least a general impression of what the subject has "experienced." Note that events, which are significant to a vampire, may not be the same events that interest a lawn jockey. System: The number of successes dictates the amount and relevance of the information that the character receives. One success may yield a boulder's memory of a forest fire, while three may indicate that it remembers a shadowy figure running past, and five will cause the rock to relate a precise description of a local Gangrel. *** Animate the Unmoving Objects affected by this power move as the vampire using it dictates. An object cannot take an action that would be completely inconceivable for something with its form - for instance; a door could not leap from its hinges and carry someone across a street. However, seemingly solid objects can become flexible within reason: Barstools can run with their legs, guns can twist out of their owners' hands or fire while holstered, and statues can move like normal humans. System: This power requires the expenditure of a Willpower point with less than four successes on the roll. Each use of this power animates one object; the thaumaturge may simultaneously control a number of animate objects equal to his Intelligence rating. Objects animated by this power stay animated as long as they are within the caster's line of sight or up to an hour. **** Elemental Form The vampire can take the shape of any inanimate object of a mass roughly equal to her own. A desk, a statue or a bicycle would be feasible, but a house or a pen would be beyond this power's capacity. System: The number of successes determines how completely the character takes the shape she wishes to counterfeit. At least three successes are required for the character to use her senses or Disciplines while in her altered form. This power lasts for the remainder of the night, although the character may return to her normal form at will. ***** Summon Elemental A vampire may summon one of the traditional spirits of the elements: a salamander (fire), a sylph (air), a gnome (earth) or an undine (water). Some Tremere claim to have contacted elemental spirits of glass, electricity, blood and even atomic energy, but such reports remain unconfirmed (even as their authors are summoned to Vienna for questioning). The thaumaturge may choose what type of elemental he wishes to summon and command. System: The character must be near some quantity of the classical element corresponding to the spirit he wishes to invoke. The spirit invoked may or may not actually follow the caster's instructions once summoned, but generally will at least pay rough attention to what it's being told to do. The number of successes gained determines the power level of the elemental. The elemental has three dots in all Physical and Mental Attributes. One dot may be added to one of the elemental's Physical Attributes for each success gained by the caster on the initial roll. The Storyteller should determine the elemental's Abilities, attacks and damage, and any special powers it has related to its element. Once the elemental has been summoned, the thaumaturge must exert control over it. The more powerful the elemental, the more difficult a task this is. The player rolls Manipulation + Occult (difficulty of the number of successes scored on the casting roll + 4, and the player may substitute Spirit Lore for Occult if he so desires). Might of the Sea * Eyes of the Sea ' Roll: Perception + Occult, difficulty 7 By looking into a standing body of water, the vampire may see past occurances in that body of water. The amount of time by which the vampire can see into the past is as follows: 1 suc. one day. 2 suc. one week. 3 suc. one month. 4 suc. one year. 5 suc. ten years. ** '''Jail of Water ' Roll: Dexterity + Survival, difficulty 6 Resist: Strength, difficulty 8 The vampire may command water to rise, and trap a target. The vampire may dissolve the jail at will, but a target may only be in one of these jails at a time. This power must be used near a large amount of water. *** '''Dehydrate Roll: Willpower, difficulty 8 Resist: Stamina + Survival + Fortitude difficulty 9 The vampire may pull water out of a target, leaving exit wounds. Humans so injured lose one health level per success, and vampires so injured lose one blood point per success. To take an action the next turn, the target must roll Courage, difficulty 6, and score three more successes than the vampire scored. Failure means that she is in too much pain to act. **** Flowing Wall Roll: Willpower, difficulty 6 By spending three willpower points, and touching a standing body of water, the vampire may make a wall of water. Supernatural creatures must score three successes on a roll of Strength + Courage, difficulty 9, to cross this barrier. The vampire may dissolve the barrier at will. ***** Blood to Water Roll: Willpower, difficulty Humanity + 3, to 10 By touching a victim, the vampire may convert one of the victim's blood points to water for each success. This is fatal to mortals, and vampires lose one die from all pools for each blood point lost this way. When the vampire sleeps, the water disappears, but the blood does not return. Path of Blood * A Taste for Blood Roll: Perception + Occult, difficulty 7 By touching the blood of a vampire, the vampire may make an approximation as to the last feeding time, the amount of blood left in a vampire, her rough generation, etc. * Blood Rage Roll: Dexterity + Subterfuge, difficulty Willpower The vampire may force a vampiric victim to spend one blood point per success, and may decide how the blood is spent. ** Blood of Potency Roll: Manipulation + Survival, difficulty 8 The vampire may temporarily reduce her generation. Each success either reduces the vampire's generation by one, or adds one hour to the time period for which it is reduced. *** Theft of Vitae Roll: Intelligence + Medicine, difficulty Willpower The vampire may steal blood from a victim, at a rate of one point per success. The difficulty is to use this power is 6 against a non-living source (IE a plasma bag). **** Cauldron of Blood Roll: Willpower, difficulty points to be burned + 4 The vampire may boil some of the blood of another vampire or mortal, which will burn all at once. This causes one aggravated wound per blood point boiled, in addition to blood loss. The Green Path The Green Path deals with the manipulation of plant matter of all sorts. Anything more complex than an algae bloom can theoretically be controlled through the appropriate application of this path. Ferns, roses, dandelions and even ancient redwoods are all equally valid targets for this path's powers, and living and dead plant matter are equally affected. While not as immediately impressive as some other more widely practiced paths, the Green Path (sometimes disparagingly referred to as "Botanical Mastery") is as subtle and powerful as the natural world, which it affects. bsp; The origins of the Green Path are thought to lie with the Order of the Naturists (see Clanbook Tremere), a druidic sect within Clan Tremere. Most practitioners of the path are members of the order, and those who are not were more than likely mentored by one. According to those who are familiar with Tremere history, the Green Path is a blood magic-based derivation of some magickal workings formerly practiced by House Diedne, an order of mortal mages destroyed by the Tremere during the Dark Ages. * Herbal Wisdom With but a touch, a vampire can commune with the spirit of a plant. Conversations held in this manner are often cryptic but rewarding - the wisdom and experience of the spirits of some trees surpasses that of the oracles of legend. Crabgrass, on the other hand, rarely has much insight to offer, but might reveal the face of the last person who trod upon it. System: The number of successes rolled determines the amount of information that can be gained from the contact. Depending on the precise information that the vampire seeks, the Storyteller might require the player to roll Intelligence + Occult or Intelligence + Intuition in order to interpret the results of the communication. ** Speed the Season's Passing This power allows a thaumaturge to accelerate a plant's growth, causing roses to bloom in a matter of minutes or trees to shoot up from saplings overnight. Alternately, she can speed a plant's death and decay, withering grass and crumbling wooden stakes with but a touch. System: The character touches the target plant. The player rolls normally, and the number of successes determines the amount of growth or decay. One success gives the plant a brief growth spurt or simulates the effects of harsh weather, while three noticeably enlarge or wither it. With five successes, a full-grown plant springs from a seed or crumbles to dust in a few minutes and a tree sprouts fruit or begins decaying almost instantaneously. If this power is used in combat, three successes are needed to render a wooden weapon completely useless. Two successes suffice to weaken it, while five cause it to disintegrate in the wielder's hand. *** Dance of the Vines The thaumaturge can animate a mass of vegetation up to his own size, using it for utilitarian or combat purposes with equal ease. Leaves can walk along a desktop, ivy can act as a scribe, and jungle creepers can strangle opponents. Intruders should beware of Tremere workshops that harbor potted rowan saplings. System: Any total amount of vegetation with a mass less than or equal to the character's own may be animated through this power. The plants stay active for one turn per success scored on the roll, and are under the complete control of the character. If used for combat purposes, the plants have Strength and Dexterity ratings equal to half the character's current Willpower (rounded down) and Brawl ratings one lower than that of the character. Dance of Vines cannot make plants uproot themselves and go stomping about. Even the most energetic vegetation is incapable of pulling out of the soil and walking under the effect of this power. However, 150 pounds of kudzu can cover a considerable area all by itself… **** Verdant Haven This power weaves a temporary shelter out of a sufficient amount of plant matter. In addition to providing physical protection from the elements (and even sunlight), the Verdant Haven also establishes a mystical barrier which is nigh-impassable to anyone the caster wishes to exclude. A Verdant Haven appears as a six-foot-tall hemisphere of interlocked branches, leaves and vines with no discernible opening, and even to the casual observer it appears to be an unnatural construction. Verdant Havens are rumored to have supernatural healing properties, but no Kindred have reported experiencing such benefits from a stay in one. System: A character must be standing in a heavily vegetated area to use this power. The Verdant Haven springs up around the character over the course of three turns. Once the haven is established, anyone wishing to enter the haven without the caster's permission must achieve more than the caster's original number of successes on a single roll of Wits + Survival (difficulty equal to the caster's Willpower). The haven lasts until the next sunset, or until the caster dispels or leaves it. If the caster scored four or more successes, the haven is impenetrable to sunlight unless physically breached. ***** Awaken the Forest Giants Entire trees can be animated by a master of the Green Path. Ancient oaks can be temporarily given the gift of movement, pulling their roots from the soil and shaking the ground with their steps. While not as versatile as elementals or other summoned spirits, trees brought to ponderous life via this power display awesome strength and resilience. System: The character touches the tree to be animated. The player spends a blood point and rolls normally. If the roll succeeds, the player must spend a blood point for every success. The tree stays animated for one turn per success rolled; once this time expires, the tree puts its roots down wherever it stands and cannot be animated again until the next night. While animated, the tree follows the character's verbal commands to the best of its ability. An animated tree has Strength and Stamina equal to the caster's Thaumaturgy rating, Dexterity 2 and a Brawl rating equal to the casters own. It is immune to bashing damage, and all nonaggravated lethal damage dice pools are halved due to its size. Once the animating energy leaves a tree, it puts down roots immediately, regardless of what it is currently standing on. A tree re-establishing itself in the soil can punch through concrete and asphalt to find nourishing dirt and water underneath, meaning that it is entirely possible for a particularly sluggish sycamore to set up shop in the middle of a road without any warning. Abuses or misuses of this power can very easily lead to breaches of the Masquerade, and the thaumaturge who leaves a row of maples across a major traffic artery is unlikely to have the opportunity to make the same mistake twice. Weather Control Command over the weather has long been a staple power of wizards both mortal and immortal, and this path is said by many to predate the Tremere by millennia. The proliferation of usage of this path outside the clan tends to confirm this theory; Weather Control is quite common outside the Tremere, and even outside the Camarilla. Lower levels of this path allow subtle manipulations, while higher stages of mastery allow a vampire to call up raging storms. The area affected by this power is usually rather small, no more than three or four miles in diameter, and the changes the power wreaks are not always immediate. System: The number of successes rolled indicates how long it takes the weather magic to take effect. One success indicates an entire day may pass before the weather changes to the thaumaturge's liking, while a roll with five successes brings an almost instant effect. The difficulty, of the Willpower roll necessary to invoke this power may change depending on the current local weather conditions and the weather the character is attempting to create. The Storyteller should impose a bonus (-1 or -2 difficulty) for relatively minor shifts, such as clearing away a light drizzle or calling lightning when a severe thunderstorm is already raging. Conversely, a penalty (+1 or +2 difficulty) should be applied when the desired change is at odds with the current conditions, such as summoning the same light drizzle in the middle of the Sahara Desert or calling down lightning from a cloudless sky. If the character tries to strike a specific target with lightning, the player must roll Perception + Occult (difficulty 6 if the target is standing in open terrain, 8 if he is under shelter, or 10 if he is inside but near a window) in addition to the base roll to use Thaumaturgy. Otherwise the bolt goes astray, with the relative degree of failure of the roll determining where exactly the lightning strikes. Effects of the power default to the maximum area available unless the thaumaturge states that he's attempting to affect a smaller area. At Storyteller discretion, an additional Willpower roll (difficulty 6) may be required to keep the change in the weather under control. Individual power descriptions are not provided for this path, as the general principle is fairly consistent. Instead, the strongest weather phenomenon possible at each level is listed. * Fog: Vision is slightly impaired and sounds are muffled; a + 1 difficulty is imposed on all Perception rolls that involve sight and hearing, and the effective ranges of all ranged attacks are halved. Light breeze: A +1 difficulty is imposed on all Perception rolls that involve smell. Minor temperature change: It is possible to raise or lower the local temperature by up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit. ** Rain or Snow: Precipitation has the same effect as fog, but Perception rolls are impaired to a much greater extent; the difficulty modifier for all such rolls rises to +2. In addition, the difficulty on all Drive rolls increases by two. *** High Winds: The wind speed rises to around 30 miles per hour, with gusts of up to twice that. Ranged attacks are much more difficult: +1 to firearm attacks, +2 to thrown weapons and archery. In addition, during fierce gusts, Dexterity rolls (difficulty 6) may be required to keep characters from being knocked over by the winds. Needless to say, when gale-force winds are in effect, papers go flying, objects get picked up by the winds and hurled with abandon, and other suitably cinematic effects are likely. Moderate temperature change: The local temperature can be raised or lowered by up to 20 degrees Fahrenheit. **** Storm: This has the effects of both Rain and High Winds. *****''' Lightning Strike''': This attack inflicts 10 dice of lethal damage. Body armor does not add to the target's dice pool to soak this attack.Category:Timeline